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History of the Brewery District in Columbus, OH
By Brian Johnson
During the early 19th century, immigrants began settling on the farmlands and pastures in the southern part of Columbus, OH. They constructed a community based off of their own unique skill sets, and the community became known as the German Village and the Brewery District, due to the largely German makeup of the population. In 1836, Louis Hoster, a German immigrant to the Columbus area opened the first Brewery, called the City Brewery.
The breweries became the hub of the city, around which the other settlers constructed their homes and their businesses. Taking a look that was indicative of their German roots, the working class homes that surrounded the breweries were constructed primarily of bricks with their triangular canopies over the doors and windows facing the streets. As the transportation routes improved, the larger homes of the wealthier immigrants began to move further south of the city.
In 1904, the breweries consolidated to form the Columbus Consolidated Brewing Company in order to deal with excess capacity and market deterioration.
In 1919, a Constitutional Amendment was passed prohibiting the manufacturing, transporting or sale of alcohol. Passage of this amendment, effectively nullified the Brewery District’s ability to survive. A few of the breweries survived a few more years by producing and distributing ice and soft drinks. This was short lived.
In 1923, the City Brewery was closed, and its buildings were sold to serve various other purposes. A few of these new businesses included restaurants, warehouses, banquet halls, store fronts, etc in the city of Columbus, Ohio.
In 1993, the Brewery District Commission was formed and the guidelines of the commission were adopted in 1996. The duty of the"non-salaried" mayoral appointees is to protect and enhance historical features of the Brewery District and to promote the enhancement of the architectural uniqueness of the area.